Slovakia has an estimated population of 5.45 million, compared to 5.39 million at the 2011 census. The population density is 111 people per square kilometer, which ranks 88th in the world, although the density is much higher in the capital, which has a population density of 1,131 people per square kilometer.

The capital and largest city is Bratislava, with a population of 413,000, followed by Kosice with 241,000 residents. These are the only cities with a population of more than 100,000.

The Slavs, ancestors of the Slovaks, arrived in the area in the 5th or 6th century. After WW II and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Slovaks and Czechs created a mutual state, Czechoslovakia, until Slovakia became an independent state in 1993 and Czechoslovakia was dissolved peacefully.

Slovakia Demographics

The 2011 census found that most residents are Slovaks (80.7%), with Hungarians representing the second-largest ethnic group (8.5%). Other groups include Roma (2%), Czechs (0.6%), and Rusyns (0.6%), although unofficial estimates put the Roma population at 9%. Prior to World War II, there were 135,000 Jews in the country. Today, there are just 2,300 Jews in Slovakia.

How Many People Live in Slovakia?

Timezones in Slovakia

Slovakia Population Growth

Slovakia is currently growing at a rate of just 0.2% per year. A recent Gallup poll in May 2014 fond that, if immigration were unregulated and all Slovaks who wish to move abroad did, while all foreigners who wanted to live in Slovakia moved to the country, the population would still drop by 14%.

Data Sources

Total population: Estimated to be consistent with the 2001 and 2011 censuses, with official population estimates through 2015, and with estimates of the subsequent trends in fertility, mortality and international migration.